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The Spider Conspiracy
Daigotsu, Dark Lord of the Shadowlands, has long been a threat to the Emerald Empire. In the time leading up to the Race for the Throne he came up with another strategy for conquering Rokugan. Brute force has failed, despite coming close at times. Stealthy infiltration has failed, despite causing some dangerous situations for the Empire. What is left? Philosophy. Shinsei's insights always proved to be right. Fortune favors the mortal man, and this has been proved time and again.Rather than just having the Taint in its various forms corrupt the Empire, Daigotsu decided to fight fire with fire. He created the system of Shourido to stand as a counter to Bushido, a corrupting set of morals that was not a direct opposite of bushido but one which could seemingly work alongside. He uncovered the ancient Fudo heresy and created a sect of unTainted monks to promote it. He recruited many people to the worship of Fu Leng, who withheld the Taint from them so they could better infiltrate the Empire. When Naseru died without an acknowledged heir and Rokugan was again plunged into chaos, Daigotsu set his plans in motion. Groups of people wearing a spider mon but scrupulously avoiding calling themselves a clan started appearing, doing good works and getting in the graces of certain clans. The Mantis approved of a group of people who took their fate in their own hands, ignored the prejudice of the establishment and proved their worth. The Unicorn appreaciated the efforts they made to aid and protect the common people. Samurai of all clans could appreciate the ideals of Shourido, and the leadership of the clans felt they had more important things to do than worry about another group of ronin trying to make a name for themselves. While the Brotherhood of Shinsei was worried about this 'new' philosophy, their concerns were mostly ignored. The Scorpion, though concerned with the succession of the throne and the Khan's March, investigated the Spider on their own, but didn't devote too many resources to it. Kitsuki Iweko was one of the few samurai outside of the Scorpion who was not only concerned with the appearance of the Spider and Fudoism, but had the insight and dedication to do something about it. The Night of Assassins nearly brought about the destruction of the Scorpion clan. The Scorpion were getting too close to the truth, so Daigotsu engineered the death of many high value targets in the Clans apart from the Scorpion to remove suspicion from the Spider. While not all of the attempts were successful in killing their targets, it was successful in halting the Scorpion's investigations and allowing the Spider more freedom to act. The other Clans were furious and blamed the Scorpion for the event. A brief war broke out that was only halted by the intervention of Kitsuki Iweko, who, with a great deal of luck, effort and buying favors from other clans, managed to prove the connection of Fudoism and Shourido to the Spider, the connection between Night of Assassins and the Spider, and the connection between the Spider and Daigtosu. When this was made common knowledge, the Spider and Fudoists were eradicated whereever they were to be found and the Unicorn took it upon themselves to hunt down every trace of the Spider in the Shinomen and other areas outside the main lands of the Empire. Omen, Oracle of Jade, was present when Iweko made her case against the Spider and declared that she had proven her worth to the Empire and the Heavens in rooting out corruption, and should be Empress. The Clans readily agreed, much to Iweko's surprise. Not one to let an opportunity pass, Iweko asked her question of the Oracle: "Is uncovering this plot the most dangerous threat to the Empire I will encounter?" "No."